TRUTH:
Requirements for training positions include
a college degree, and SCUBA certification. The
starting salary for trainers is $7.25 an hour.
(from current Miami Sea Seaquarium job posting).

The
Miami Seaquarium trainers know very little about
wildlife or wild animals. Not one trainer (that
we know of) at the Seaquarium has ever studied
orcas in the wild. The title "Trainer"
has been bastardized at the Seaprison. These
"trainers" simply memorize a series
of signals that the animals have committed to
memory decades ago. It is they who teach the
trainers. But while 'trainers' know little about
the subtle nuances of a wild orca, they do know
how to keep one alive for 33 years in a chlorinated
tank and make it perform for food. Bravo!

Who
monitors the Miami Seaquarium to ensure they
are compliant with current Animal Welfare laws,
building regulations, safety, and fire codes?

FACTS:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) department of the USDA is supposed to
conduct routine inspections of maine mammal
parks.

The Miami-Dade Building Authority is supposed
to conduct regular inspections regarding building
and safety hazards.

The reality is, none of these organizations
has done their job in years. The Seaquarium
is rarely inspected by any of the above and
usually only when public concern arises and
complaints are filed with said organizations.

The
Miami-Dade Fire Marshall recently admitted to
never having set maximum capacity limits and
emergency exit requirements at the Miami Seaquarium.

The
only organizations that conduct routine inspections
of the Miami Seaquarium are the non-profit organizations
Rattle the Cage and Dolphin Freedom Foundation.
Niether unfortunately has authority to enforce
the law.

The
Miami Seaquarium was built after the safety
laws were established in 1939 which require
four emergency exits for any exhibit with a
capacity over 1000. Each of the three main attractions
at the Miami Seaquarium fill to almost 2000
on a busy day and have but two heavily congested
exits.

In
1994 5 sea-lions were electrocuted because of
shotty wiring.

In 1996, prompted by undercover video from DFF,
the Seaquarium whale show was closed due to
structural damage in the whale stadium. It was
never repaired.

In 2003 the entire park was closed for a day
and many attractions remained closed for a week
due to over 127 public safety hazards. The park
reopened but the repairs have not been corrected.
The various electrical corrections that were
made do NOT meet Florida code according to licensed
third-party safety inspectors and have been
done in a cheap and negligent manor.
[MORE]

TRUTH:
50-90 years in the wild. In captivity they rarely
make it to their teens. Average life span for
a captive orca - 9 years.

Lolita is about 37-39 years old and has set
the record for the longest living killer whale
in captivity. She is a remarkable exception.

Could
Lolita be successfully retired to the ocean?

Seaquarium
Says: No known studies exist documenting
killer whales which have been successfully introduced
to the wild. Would you experiment and send someone
you cared for into a potentially dangerous situation?

TRUTH: There is no part of the reintroduction
protocol that would pose any appreciable risk.
Many captive dolphins have been successfully
retired to natural sea pens and finally released
back to the wild. Orcas are dolphins.

Biologists have been monitoring Lolita's
family, the L-25 Sub pod, on a daily basis for
many years and are confident she can be reunited
with them in Puget Sound. But first she must
be rescued from MSQ and retired to a natural
sea pen where she can once again experience
the natural rhythms of the sea, be retaught
how to catch her own fish (a natural instinct)
and, eventually, be reintroduced to her family.

Orcas
that have been studied in their natural habitat
have demonstrated that they are the most cohesively
bonded mammals on the face of the planet. The
offspring stay with their mother for life. With
Orcas remarkable long-term memory, there is
good reason to believe that Lolita would remember
her family members, that they would remember
the loss of a family member and, due to her
proven ability to make her family's distinct
calls, she would be recognized upon return.
What a reunion that would be!

Seaquarium
Says: Lolita has been exposed to an array
of potential diseases that, although posing
no threat to her, could prove devastating to
the currently healthy wild orca population.
Releasing Lolita would be an inhumane and extremely
risky experiment, both to her and to the wild
population.TRUTH:
The same arguments were given in an attempt
to prevent Keiko's release. A team of six USDA-appointed
veterinarians and pathologists examined Keiko
thoroughly and found NO TRACE of any such pathogen.
A team of Icelandic veterinarians then examined
Keiko independently and came to the same conclusion.
Lolita would also be examined prior to transport
to alleviate any concerns.Seaquarium
Says: Lolita is not physically or mentally
strong enough to make the journey home to WA.
She can never surivive after so many years in
captivity.FACT:
Transporting her home would NOT be dangerous
to Lolita's health. Orcas and dolphins are transported
to and from marine parks constantly.

Orca
biologists feel Lolita is a perfect candidate
for retirement to a natural sea pen in Puget
Sound where she was taken. Once she is 'deprogrammed'
Lolita will ultimately determine if she wants
to be released. If she chooses life in a pen
then there she may retire in peace and experience
the natural rhythms of the sea. She will hear
her family as they pass through the Sound twice
a year.LOLITA's RETIREMENT
PLAN ~ Kenneth Balcomb III, Orca Biologist

Why
did the Seaquarium apply for a permit to recapture
Keiko?

Seaquarium Says: We're very concerned about
Keiko's health. He can't survive out there after
so many years in captivity.

TRUTH:
So they could put him in a pool and attempt
to breed him with Lolita. Bottom Line.

Is
Lolita happy at the Seaquairum?

Seaquarium
Says: She is part of our family and we take
very good care of her.

TRUTH:
Lolita is forced to perform two shows daily,
seven days a week, 365 days a year. She is rewarded
with food for her performances. If she doesn't
perform properly, the whistle isn't blown and
she doesn't get the fish. Trainers call this
"positive reward." From Lolita's point
of view, it is food deprivation.

She gets her exercise by swimming around and
around in a constant holding pattern and has
been repeating this psychotic behavior in an
illegal substandard archaic tank for 33 years.

The
Seaquarium's first orca Hugo
was captured from the same pod as Lolita. He
was worked to death in just 10 years. The Seaquarium
tossed his body in the Dade County dump.

Throughout
the entire park there is not one memorial
for Hugo to be found! He's a forgotten soul,
a victim to a heartless industry, lost forever,
but not forgotten. >>HUGO<<

Would
you treat your family this way?

Didn't
I hear back in 1978 that the Seaquarium was
building Lolita a bigger tank?

Seaquarium
Says: (1996) Plans are under way to build
Lolita a larger tank.
(2003) Plans are on the way to build her a new
tank.

FACT:
The Miami Seaquarium has been promising to build
Lolita a larger tank since 1978. There is no
new tank. Seaquarium admitted that they do not
have the funds. They have been lying to the
public and Lolita for twenty-five years.

Seaquarium
Says: The government has approved Lolita's
tank.

FACT:
The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) states that the primary enclosure
for a killer whale (Orcinus Orca) must have
a minimum horizontal dimension of no less than
48 ft in either direction with a straight line
of travel across the center. You must be able
to draw a circle with a 48-foot diameter in
the pool.

Lolita's
tank is only 35 ft. from the front wall to the
slide-out barrier. At its deepest point, it
is only 20 ft. deep. This
is clearly an ILLEGAL tank, but no one is
enforcing the law. In other words, while Lolita
is left cramped in this clearly substandard
tank, APHIS is NOT doing their job. They gave
the Seaquarium a variance from 1979 to 1984
to allow them five years to upgrade the tank.
Her conditions have never been improved.

In
September of 1998, the Humane Society of the
United States filed a formal complaint regarding
the size of Lolita's tank. And they have continuously
objected to the federal government's failure
to enforce the Animal Welfare Act. The USDA
is NOT enforcing the law.

What
kind of shelter does the Seaquarium have to
protect Lolita in case of a hurricane?

Seaquarium
Says: Uhhh?

FACT:
The Miami Seaquarium has nothing to protect
Lolita from the scalding Florida sun or any
extreme weather emergency. The patrons however
have protection from the elements.

Could
Lolita's trust for humans prove detrimental
to her release into the wild?

Seaquarium
Says: Lolita has been in captivity for over
30 years and has learned to trust humans. This
trust could be dangerous for her in the wild.
FACT: Recent scientific studies have shown
that orcas are well aware that they are orcas,
and not pets for humans. Springer, the 18-month
old orca that was returned to her family, quickly
learned to stay away from boats and stay with
her family. Lolita would need to be "deprogrammed,"
but it can and has been done.

Could
Lolita learn to hunt for fish again?

Seaquarium
Says: We threw her a fish once and she didn't
chase it. Lolita has become accustomed to being
hand-fed 180-200 pounds of restaurant-quality
fish on a daily basis and has lost her ability
to hunt for live fish.
FACT: If she can learn tricks, she can re-learn
to hunt. Keiko has demonstrated that after 23
years in captivity, he is fully competent to
roam the North Atlantic, hunting and eating
all the fish he can. The skill is apparently
never lost during captivity. Lolita was about
four years older than Keiko was when captured
and had developed all of her hunting skills.
She can certainly regain the ability to catch
fish.

Are
the Seaquarium shows educational?

Seaquarium
Says: Our mission is to create an appreciation
of our delicate ocean environments by displaying
the natural abilities and beauty of marine animals
through quality education and entertainment....
receive a better understanding of whales and
marine animals in general.

FACT:
About 5% of the show is educational. And that
is only because the law requires it. The underlying
message of cetacean display parks is that capture
and lifelong confinement of orcas for profit
and amusement is acceptable. People do not get
to see anything that remotely resembles a wild
animal. What they see are circus clowns. (See
Education)

Some parks even say that living in small tanks
is better for the animals than their natural
ocean habitats, which are called "cold,
dark and ferocious" by Brad Andrews, director
of operations for Sea World. It's hard to imagine
a more disrespectful, anti-conservation message.
At the Seaprison spectators see only a captive
manipulated animal not the awesome strength,
beauty, and social structure of natural orca
populations.